UPDATE: 08/24/2005 - Primed and base coated model. (See pics at left)

It is just amazing the details that come out on this kit as you apply the paint!! And more importantly, almost all the panels/details match right on to the CGI model!!

UPDATE: 08/23/2005 - Did some detailing prior to priming. (See pics at left)

UPDATE: 08/22/2005 - This incredible little model, about 7" in length is PACKED with details. I never would have guessed someone could make a physical model of this complex battlestar, but Coby Lorang pulled it off, and did a tremendous job on this little kit! You can see all the minute little details of all the panels, and there are even the 'launch tube' openings on the sides of the landing bays, and 'Galactica' engraved on them as well! I will be washing the kit this week, then primer and sanding it, and working on the paint. I'll be using the poster that Jeff Waclawski (JT Graphics) made up, and picked up at Wonderfest as references. (Basically, the ZOIC pics, in one cool poster)

KIT REVIEW

WHAT YOU GET

The kit comes shipped in a nicely padded box, with a cool BSG image on the front. When you open it, you'll see the decals, instructions, BSG emblem and brass rod are separately packaged in a plastic bag. The first thing you will notice is the absolutely amazing amount of detail, and the crispness of the overall castings. The 'flash' around the midline looks scary at first, but you'll find it is less than paper thin, and cleans up easily (see below).

The model itself has three main parts - The body, and the two landing bays. Lastly, you'll find a nicely cast base for it, and a wonderfully put together double sided instruction sheet, cut just like the papers you see on the show (corners cut at angles). Very nice touch!

PREPARING THE MODEL

Cutting the model off the 'sprues' are pretty straight forward. The landing bay front/back just needed to be clipped off. I found using a dremel was the best way to cut the landing bay structures off the main sprue. The same was needed to cut away the main body of the Galactica. Then a little extra dremelling to clean it up underneath the bay. Be careful separating the sprue from the back of the engine. In this kit, there were some minor air bubbles at the back of the engines at the sprue locations, so it will require just a little putty (The only place on this entire kit it looks like will be needed! That is a bonus for this kind of kit!)

Once the three main parts were removed, time to clean up the flash. For a model of this scale and detail, the flash is surprsingly minimal, but will take some patience to work with, as a lot of it is at the midline at all the 'ribs'. A small file and Xacto will get you through cleaning this quite easily. My particular kit didn't have quite enough resin poured on the underside, but, with a little sanding, it was minor enough to still get the basic shape. Inside the landing bay recesses on both sides of the main ship body, there were some large resin 'bubbles'. Again, very common with resin kits, and no more than expected. Just a couple minutes with an Xacto, and these were easily removed.

The 'holes' where the landing bays go through the body on mine were a bit mis-cast (the rear's opening was much longer vertically than the front). Both holes require cleaning out the resin to fit the landing bays properly. This is easily addressed by getting a small square file, and filing out the resin. The bays will slip right in. I'll just need to make a small styrene panels to go under each of the bay struts to hide the extra room. Lastly, one of the landing bays had some uneveness in the midline where the mold lines were. Also, just some scraping with an Xacto, and you are set. Finally, the kit gets a wash in some mild soapy water, and she'll be ready for primer!

All in all, with such amazing detail, the quality is fantastic for the $. At this point, I highly recommend this to anyone with some experience in resin. Next will be a review on painting and assembly.

PAINTING

Now the fun part. I airbushed a thin base coat of Testors enamels primer. That dried quickly, so it was on to the base coat of Testors Enamel Dark Gull Gray. Again, I thinned it down about 50/50. As this went on, the details and panel lines just started coming out! It was VERY COOL. You just want to keep going and finish this thing right away as the details make you feel as if you are really handling a "mini-Galactica". Some areas where I didn't clean out the flash stood out, so next I'll go in and clean up those areas, and hit it with another quick base coat.

The model then got a coating of clear, flat lacquer, so the hand painting won't smear the base coat. I then began painting all the raised panels. I used a mix of 50% Light grey, 30% aluminum and 20%Dark Gull Gray, thinned down. I then applied the paint to a small, flat brush and painted all the panels. This gave it a subtle metallic sheen, so the panels reflect in lighting slightly. I also added the red stripes (need to fix the ones on the nose). This was just hand painted with a small fine brush. MORE TO COME.